Wow, that "saved search" is cool Traveler! It will also be helpful to me, who has trouble remembering where my posts are… ;) I end up retyping sometimes and lose some consistency that way. I am getting closer to wrapping up a post we can add to the sticky thead!
But Patty—
I totally agree w/ Girlie's and Traveler's suggestions to address the C-Diff and the yeast/fungal overgrowth first before moving forward with the herbal treatments. These MAJOR disruptions in your GI will challenge, if not make impossible, good digestion of meds, herbs, and most importantly food and nutrition.
Please do read through my threads and I apologies it's not all consolidated yet. But please let me know if you have any specific questions. I check into the forum every now and then and you can also email me.
Regarding your specific questions in your post:
I would go easy on piling on all the antifungals. If your overgrowth has already started causing symptoms, it's too late for the natural antifungals like the ones you listed, which are really good at maintenance and prevention, but are not strong enough to knock out a pre-existing problem. And the longer it takes to address the problem, the more dangerous the problem gets and the more damage done to the gut. But even with a maintenance/prevention protocol, you should only take one anti fungal at a time and rotate it out after a week. If you choose, say, 6 different antifungals (all the ones you listed are really great), you can cycle them in/out after you've gone through them all but keep the dosing to 1 wk.
But right now, your issue is an already developed overgrowth. Rx are required.
First, the Diflucan might work. And if you are sure you have a systemic problem, vs. a local problem, (signified by symptoms and how long you've had a problem), then I would take it. But using a systemic anti fungal to address a local problem in your gut is like driving 5 miles out of your way on a pothole-filled road to get home, rather than taking the shortcut that was newly paved. ;) The Diflucan is a systemic anti fungal and gets into the bloodstream and gets filtered through your liver, which is probably already overwhelmed. Most people end up with high liver enzymes. You must get your liver checked every 4 wks while on Diflucan.
A much better and more effective approach is the pure nystatin powder, which I discuss in those threads. It's a local anti fungal, since it's a powder, when you add it to water and swallow it, it coats your mouth, throat and your entire alimentary canal, getting to all the yeast/fungus and killing on contact for the most part. Pills cannot do that. And it stays in the gut for the most part so it doesn't toxify the liver.
Also, whether you take the Diflucan or the Nystatin, you need to be on it for several weeks. A gut overgrowth is not like a vaginal overgrowth, which they've developed a 1 dose Diflucan version for. Some MDs prescribe this for the gut and it's so ineffective it's dangerous. Think how much larger and more "geographically" different your entire GI tract is, vs. your vaginal canal…
I include specific dosing info for the nystatin powder in my posts but please let me know if you have q's about
that.
Also, if you already have a significant y/f overgrowth in the gut, AND you're introducing more abx for your C-Diff, you should increase your probiotic significantly. I take 800 billion on the days I do my IV infusions. My integrated gastroenterologist has assured me you can't take too much probiotic. On the days I don't take abx, I take 100billion or sometimes I skip it. Also, make sure you're taking a broad-based, fresh (live) with at least 30 varieties of probiotics. This is some good recent info:
www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=30&m=3481242Hope this helps-
-p